COVER N. 626 - MONTENEGRO  

Postmark: Lastva Grbaljska 85317 - 21.07.2025

Posted on the 21st July; Received on the 6th August 2025

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Hmmmm, Montenegro.... a country that ranks real high on my list of  most loved places, for all its unspoiled incredible natural beauty, and only the second cover I got from there... Un grand Merci, Roland.

We will begin with the two stamps on the upper right corner. These constitute a set issued on 21MAY2012, themed on nature protection, something that in the case of Montenegro is, if possible, even more vital than in a lot of the world places, given the yet pristine condition of a large area of the territory.

To illustrate the idea, the stamps feature two animals - a duck (0.30 €) andf a frog (0.95€) wearing a lifebuoy. 

Even if totally in favour of the message conveyed, I  am not particularly fond of the design and maybe it is just me, but I had some trouble identifying the duck on the stamp, for the image seemed quite confusing.

- A century of aviation in Montenegro, reads the red legend below the somewhat stylised biplane illustrating the 0,30 € stamp, issued on 05SEP2013, on the left upper corner of the envelope, with its wheels replaced by Montenegro's Air Force cockades.

In fact, it seems that the first heavier than air flight in Montenegro was made by a Donnet-Lévêque seaplane in 1913, in the port of Tivat, a place that is not that far from what is now Tivat Airport, a sight I quite remember, when I drove up the mountain from Kotor in a narrow road that had more than 20 hairpin bends before it reached the summit.

Tivat Airport

 - The 0,30 € stamp illustrated with a child's drawing of a child running away from a bee was issued on 31OCT2017. It carries the legend Radost Europe, what translates, I believe, into Joy of Europe, hence I believe it to have been issued on the occasion of the Radost Europe children's festival that annually takes place, since 1969, in  the City of Belgrade, Serbia.

The festival, aims to showcase the cultures and customs of children all across Europe, through their songs and dances.

The postmark was applied at Lastva Grbaljska, a town not very far from Budva, on the coast.